When Philly walked down the aisle towards her soon-to-be-husband Nick, it seemed like the planets had momentarily aligned to create wedding perfection right here on earth. Beautiful summer's-end light made the distant ocean sparkle and the vines shine. Throw in a bit of happy-ever-after and you easily have one of life's great moments unfolding.
Read MoreThe only thing better on a wedding day than the romantic low-lit spaces inside Church Road Winery is a splash of blue sky over the bright green vines in the hills above this Hawkes Bay wedding venue.
Read MoreWhen is it sexy for a Kiwi bloke to cry? When he sees his future wife walk around the corner in a sunlit garden, on the arm of her father and about to say 'I do'. Tanya and Mal showed me and their guests what love is supposed to be at their Te Awa wedding on a bright spring afternoon. And I didn't even have to resort to my usual stack of questionable jokes to get the crew laughing during our wedding party shoot.
Read MoreA truly autumnal wedding filled with low light, deep colours, and two people in love...and laughter. Rob and Caroline Herbert were married at The Old Church in Meeanee, Hawkes Bay.
Read MoreLove is a little like a maze...sometimes you take a few wrong turns to find the right path. Long-term soul mates Rose and Jeremy Jones are one of those lucky couples who went right past all the dead-ends to lucky-in-love right from the start.
Read MoreWhen tiny blonde pocket rocket Melissa turned up at my studio with a grin and told me to think 'Big Fat Gypsy Weddings' when I imagined her dress, I had mixed feelings. Would she be lost amid a haze of tulle and tiaras? Would she even fit in the car? None of my fears came true, but a fairy tale did, starting with 'that' dress.
Read MoreWeddings are fast. They are unrepeatable, hugely significant and filled with unexpected things happening at lightening speed. Even though one awesome photographer can anticipate a lot of this, the simple physics of it are that they can't be in two places at once, or in one place covering two different angles.
Read MoreLike all good love affairs, my one with Andrew and Nikki Mills' wedding day started in the bedroom. Laid out on on the blood red brocade of the Old Church Villa's 'red' bed was a treasure trove of loveliness to photograph; sparkling diamonds, soft rose petals in muted hues, satin gowns and (sigh)...Badgely Mischka heels. Yes, it was love at first sight
Read MoreYou almost have to be careful what you wish for when planning a Hawkes Bay wedding. Blue skies and sunshine is perfect...but along with 35-degree temperatures, perhaps a bit too perfect! Beautiful shady and cool cloud cover arrived with Ryan as he made his way through the vines for his first look at wife-to-be Jenna, who waited outside Rush Cottage at Black Barn Winery for her Mr. Right.
Read MoreSometimes the stars align and a wedding day leaps right out of a bride and groom's fairytale imagination and into real life in front of my lens. Pete Spall & Emma Carter chose the family farm at Kereru (and nearby Gallery Cottage) as the backdrop for their Hawkes Bay country wedding, and it was one of those magical days when it feels like a spell has been cast over the day
Read MoreI was absolutely delighted when I received an email from Australian couple Scott and Lindsay in May 2013, filling me in on their romantic plans to sail to New Zealand on a luxury cruise, stopping in at the world's beautiful Art Deco capital, Napier, to tie the knot.
Read MoreI first met Nicci when I was shooting her brother-in-law's wedding just over at year ago at The Old Church near Napier. I remember thinking at the time, 'now THAT is going to be one hot little bride'. When I arrived in the middle of Suzanne Hardy's hair-and-makeup love-fest (at the aptly named cottage 'The Love Shack', just outside Havelock North), I was already fizzing with excitement.
Read MoreI have known Ceilidh since she was knee-high-to-a-grasshopper, so it was especially cool when she showed up at my studio about a year ago with a dashing young Brit on her arms, and a beautiful sparkling ring on her finger.I started my day with the boys at their wedding venue, Millar Road, which sits atop a vineyard, high on the Tukituki hills looking back to the distant sweep of Hawkes Bay coastline.
Read MoreWhen Hannah and I first spoke about a family photography session, she suggested her husband's work as a great location for us to mix it all up. Now as much as I'm always keen to anchor my Hawkes Bay portrait photography in locations that mean something to my families, the workplace isn't normally top of my list. Except Matt just happens to be a winemaker at one of the most beautiful locations in Hawkes Bay...Craggy Range
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